Curaçao refused Machado flight after request “from higher up”

Curaçao's civil aviation authority prevented a plane carrying Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado from landing on September 22, citing a "request from higher up," according to the authority's director. The identity of the entity making the request remains unclear, with Curaçao's prime minister, Willemstad and The Hague ministers, all declining to comment.

Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been attempting to return to Venezuela since last year, a move that has angered senior US officials. While Curaçao handles its own civil aviation, foreign policy is jointly managed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Dutch junior minister for kingdom relations Eric van der Burg stated that the issue would be addressed by Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen at a future meeting of the council of ministers.